Native American Report Alexander B. Rough draft LOCATION The Inuit lived around the Arctic Circle. They occupied all of north eastern North America. Since they always traveled around, the Inuit kept spreading east. They covered a tiny bit of Russia. WHAT IT WAS LIKE The weather up there was cold and harsh, and there were not any big mountains. There was about 15-90 inches of snow each year, and then it melted in spring. The climate was cold, arctic weather. The Inuit could easily get frostbite if they were not careful and they did not cover their body properly. There was a lot of ice and snow. The bodies of water were the Inuit lived were Hudson Bay, which was in the middle of their territory, Arctic Ocean, which was a bit farther north, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Labrador Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, which was to the side out in the ocean. Since the Inuit lived in this cold, snowy place, they had to adapt to the weather. SOCIETY: HOW THE TRIBE WAS ORGANIZED The Inuit were not very organized. There was no government or leader. If the Inuit chose a leader, that leader was still not very much in charge. For example, one Inuit could give another some advice, but that person did not have to follow it. The Inuit usually moved in groups of thirty people. They figured out problems throughout the whole group.Homes were often built close together; some were even connected by underground passages! There was usually a big house that served as a ceremony and meeting place. If two men disagreed about something, they made up songs and sang them at ceremonies. The winner had the best song. The Inuit also shared a lot. Some hunters gave widows, elderly ones, or people not able to hunt food because it was considered good luck. Hunters did not give lazy ones food, though. The Inuit were basically divided into three major groups; the Alaskan Inuit, which lived in Russia and Alaska, the Central Inuit, and the Greenland Inuit. The Inuit adapted to the arctic by having extra blood vessels in their hands and feet, which allowed them to conserve heat and keep warm. EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES The men, women, and children all had different jobs to do in the Inuit tribe. The men had to hunt, or teach their boys how to hunt. The men also made the homes. Some of the men carved things, or men could be shamans. The women had to scrap and soften caribou hides, or teach their girls how to. The women had to do a lot with clothing, including making it. They had to sew together waterproof seams, or dry the men’s clothing. The women had to chew fabric to make it softer. They nursed and carried children on their back until the children were three years old. The children were much loved, and very rarely were the children said no to. Since the children had to stay inside a lot, they made up games. One of the most popular things with the Inuit children was wrestling. The children were sometimes told to gather eggs from arctic birds or get some berries. The Inuit had a lot of jobs to do. FOOD The Inuit diet mostly consisted of meat. They gathered and hunted sea mammals, but they also hunted caribou, musk oxen, and polar bears. The Inuit ate almost everything on the sea mammals including the heart, backbone, ribs, breastbone and all the attached meat. They could not farm because there was too much snow, and crops could not keep on growing. The Inuit hardly wasted anything on the animals when they killed them. For example, they used seal gut and stretched it so much that it looked like clear plastic, which they used for windows. However, they did not always boil the food. The Inuit were known to eat the meat on the animals raw, but some things that were to hard to chew on they boiled down. The Inuit used harpoons to spear seals, and used three pronged spears to kill fish. First, to kill seals, a hunter cut a breathing hole in the ice. Sometimes a seal would come up for air. Some hunters waited hours for the seals to come up. When they finally came up, the hunter speared them. After that the hunters made the hole bigger and bigger so they could get the seal out. With fish, which did not need to come up for air, the hunters used three pronged spear to pull them up. Walruses and whales were a different story. It took a lot of men the pull them in. The men speared the walruses or whales, and then the hunters went in to shore. Even though most of the Inuit diet was meat, they could still gather other things than sea mammals and meat. The Inuit in the north were actually much luckier that the ones in the south. The ones in the north could collect clams, cranberries, blueberries, and young willow root. The Inuit in the south also hunted Arctic birds and gathered a few berries, but not as much. The Inuit made tea with leaves and grasses. The Inuit also had a special way of giving out the food, too. The head, eyes, front legs and heart were given to the women. The backbones of the animals were given to the men ribs, breastbone, and all the attached meat was given to the person that caught the animals. When food was scarce the Inuit sometimes had to eat their clothing, sleds, and even their dogs. CLOTHING The Inuit made all of their clothes from the animals they caught. They invented snowshoes and snow goggles. Hunters could sometimes be blinded by the snow reflecting of the ice, which is why they used snow goggles. The snow goggles were made from ivory. They had tiny slits for the eyes. The hunter was not blinded if they had the snow goggles on. The snow shoes looked like tennis rackets, used to walk on snow. The Inuit had coats called parkas, which were made from animal hides. They also had waterproof parkas made of seal intestine. The waterproof parkas were used when hunting, and the ones that were not waterproof at different times. The Inuit usually had two sets of clothes on when they went hunting. The clothes were made out of seal or caribou hide. First of all, they had a lot of layers on their feet. The Inuit had to cover up most of their body or they got frostbite, which is when your blood freezes, and suddenly your body parts do not work. The hunters had socks, inner boots, and outer boots for their legs. They also used cleats of bones on their shoes. Then they had their inner and outer leggings, and their inner and outer stockings. After that they had their parkas, or coats made from the feathers of Arctic birds. Both the coats were hooded. The Inuit had to have a lot of clothing to keep warm.
Alexander B.
Rough draft
LOCATION
The Inuit lived around the Arctic Circle. They occupied all of north eastern North
America. Since they always traveled around, the Inuit kept spreading east. They covered a tiny bit of Russia.
WHAT IT WAS LIKE
The weather up there was cold and harsh, and there were not any big mountains. There was about 15-90 inches of snow each year, and then it melted in spring. The climate was cold, arctic weather. The Inuit could easily get frostbite if they were not careful and they did not cover their body properly. There was a lot of ice and snow. The bodies of water were the Inuit lived were Hudson Bay, which was in the middle of their territory, Arctic Ocean, which was a bit farther north, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Labrador Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, which was to the side out in the ocean. Since the Inuit lived in this cold, snowy place, they had to adapt to the weather.
SOCIETY: HOW THE TRIBE WAS ORGANIZED
The Inuit were not very organized. There was no government or leader. If the Inuit chose a leader, that leader was still not very much in charge. For example, one Inuit could give another some advice, but that person did not have to follow it. The Inuit usually moved in groups of thirty people. They figured out problems throughout the whole group. Homes were often built close together; some were even connected by underground passages! There was usually a big house that served as a ceremony and meeting place. If two men
disagreed about something, they made up songs and sang them at ceremonies. The winner had the best song. The Inuit also shared a lot. Some hunters gave widows, elderly ones, or people not able to hunt food because it was considered good luck. Hunters did not give lazy ones food, though. The Inuit were basically divided into three major groups; the Alaskan Inuit, which lived in Russia and Alaska, the Central Inuit, and the Greenland Inuit. The Inuit adapted to the arctic by having extra blood vessels in their hands and feet, which allowed them to conserve heat and keep warm.
EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES
The men, women, and children all had different jobs to do in the Inuit tribe. The men had to hunt, or teach their boys how to hunt. The men also made the homes. Some of the men carved things, or men could be shamans. The women had to scrap and soften caribou hides, or teach their girls how to. The women had to do a lot with clothing, including making it. They had to sew together waterproof seams, or dry the men’s clothing. The women had to chew fabric to make it softer. They nursed and carried children on their back until the children were three years old. The children were much loved, and very rarely were the children said no to. Since the children had to stay inside a lot, they made up games. One of the most popular things with the Inuit children was wrestling. The children were sometimes told to gather eggs from arctic birds or get some berries. The Inuit had a lot of jobs to do.
FOOD
The Inuit diet mostly consisted of meat. They gathered and hunted sea mammals, but they also hunted caribou, musk oxen, and polar bears. The Inuit ate almost everything on the sea mammals including the heart, backbone, ribs, breastbone and all the attached meat. They could not farm because there was too much snow, and crops could not keep on growing. The Inuit hardly wasted anything on the animals when they killed them. For example, they used seal gut and stretched it so much that it looked like clear plastic, which they used for windows. However, they did not always boil the food. The Inuit were known to eat the meat on the animals raw, but some things that were to hard to chew on they boiled down. The Inuit used harpoons to spear seals, and used three pronged spears to kill fish. First, to kill seals, a hunter cut a breathing hole in the ice. Sometimes a seal would come up for air. Some hunters waited hours for the seals to come up. When they finally came up, the hunter speared them. After that the hunters made the hole bigger and bigger so they could get the seal out. With fish, which did not need to come up for air, the hunters used three pronged spear to pull them up. Walruses and whales were a different story. It took a lot of men the pull them in. The men speared the walruses or whales, and then the hunters went in to shore. Even though most of the Inuit diet was meat, they could still gather other things than sea mammals and meat. The Inuit in the north were actually much luckier that the ones in the south. The ones in the north could collect clams, cranberries, blueberries, and young willow root. The Inuit in the south also hunted Arctic birds and gathered a few berries, but not as much. The Inuit made tea with leaves and grasses. The Inuit also had a special way of giving out the food, too. The head, eyes, front legs and heart were given to the women. The backbones of the animals were given to the men ribs, breastbone, and all the attached meat was given to the person that caught the animals. When food was scarce the Inuit sometimes had to eat their clothing, sleds, and even their dogs.
CLOTHING
The Inuit made all of their clothes from the animals they caught. They invented snowshoes and snow goggles. Hunters could sometimes be blinded by the snow reflecting of the ice, which is why they used snow goggles. The snow goggles were made from ivory. They had tiny slits for the eyes. The hunter was not blinded if they had the snow goggles on. The snow shoes looked like tennis rackets, used to walk on snow. The Inuit had coats called parkas, which were made from animal hides. They also had waterproof parkas made of seal intestine. The waterproof parkas were used when hunting, and the ones that were not waterproof at different times. The Inuit usually had two sets of clothes on when they went hunting. The clothes were made out of seal or caribou hide. First of all, they had a lot of layers on their feet. The Inuit had to cover up most of their body or they got frostbite, which is when your blood freezes, and suddenly your body parts do not work. The hunters had socks, inner boots, and outer boots for their legs. They also used cleats of bones on their shoes. Then they had their inner and outer leggings, and their inner and outer stockings. After that they had their parkas, or coats made from the feathers of Arctic birds. Both the coats were hooded. The Inuit had to have a lot of clothing to keep warm.